Winter's Bereavement
Twilight sat upright in bed, wondering what had woken her up. She looked around the room, noticing nothing out of place. Mentally shrugging, Twilight laid back down and cuddled up against Luna, preparing to go back to sleep. Her eyes had just drifted closed when Twilight realized what had woken her up, for it had just occurred again. An echoing rumble, long and low. Twilight's ears flicked back and forth, but she couldn't quite tell what direction it had come from. Another came a few seconds after, but Twilight still failed to discern the source. Looking over, she saw that Luna was managing to sleep through all this noise, although how was beyond Twilight.
Another rumble echoed through the stones. Twilight narrowed her eyes in irritation, as this one was just as directionless as the previous. The unicorn gently slipped out of bed and walked over to the door that led to the balcony, edging around some of the leftover wine and cheese from last night. She quietly pushed it open and stepped outside. At first, she thought that the sun had risen already and Canterlot was bathed in the golden sunlight. Then, Twilight realized the the sun wasn't in the sky, and the western horizon was just starting to glow the vibrant purples and oranges of a new dawn. What was casting the golden light upon the city was then glaringly obvious.
Fires raged all along one side of the city. An entire linear section of the city was ablaze, with only one gap along the wall of fire. Twilight could hear screams now, shrill screams of those not fortunate enough to have escaped. She gasped as she beheld this terrible and hypnotizing spectacle.
What could cause all those buildings to catch fire? They're built out of stone, how cou-
Twilight thought her heart had literally stopped, so strong was the tightening in her chest as her mind caught up to the facts.
Axion.
Twilight looked down at the chaos one last time before starting to turn to go wake Luna, but something caught her eye as she did. Down one of the roads leading to the castle, about a mile distant, something gleamed. Twilight squinted at it, but the distance was still too far to be sure. Closing her eyes and rummaging around in her head for the necessary memory, Twilight remembered and cast the spell for enhanced eyesight. Opening her eyes, Twilight had to take a second to become accustomed to everything being larger. Once she had regained her coordination, she turned her sight back to the gleam, the source clear to her sharpened sight. A group of ponies, about a dozen strong, was running towards the castle, an angry look in their eyes. The gleam Twilight had spotted came from their armour, which was polished chrome. Twilight released the spell, returning her sight to normal. She looked around at the rest of the streets that led right to the castle, and saw shining armour on each of them, all heading to the castle. Realizing that they would be here any minute, Twilight turned and ran back into the room.
"Luna! Wake up! Axion is invading!"
Luna must have already been half awake to jump out of the bed as fast as she did. She ran to the door, which Twilight had left open, and only looked out for a second before returning.
"Teleport to the Black Beret's barracks!"
Luna disappeared in a flash of blue, and Twilight followed a second later. She re-materialized in the room, already filled by Luna's shouts.
"Attention! Axion is invading! Prepare for teleport! We must get out of Canterlot immediately!"
"But Princess, shouldn't we try to hold the castle?"
"Negative, Wildfire. The city is lost, even if they don't know it yet. We must evacuate now! We will regroup and form a plan later. Twilight, go to the throne room and get Celestia. We will meet you outside the southern wall, at the statue of the Vanishing Champion. Do you know it?"
"Yes, I'll be there."
Twilight nodded and closed her eyes, opening them again in the throne room. It was still fairly dark, which struck Twilight as odd considering the situation and time of day. She looked around, searching for the throne before she realized she had teleported to outside the doors. Pushing one open, she ran inside.
"Princess Celestia! Axion is invading! We have to get out-"
Twilight's words died in her throat as she beheld the sight in front of her. Celestia wasn't on her throne, but rather was beside it, a cold look in her eyes. Her mane wasn't its usual plethora of colors blowing gently in an invisible wind. Rather, it now looked and moved like a fire barely contained, seeking to burn all around it. The orange glow from her mane cast Celestia's face in partial shadows, making her seem almost evil. Though her countenance was terrifying to behold, it wasn't what scared Twilight the most. Sitting on the throne, an ugly sneer on her face, was Axion, Amaranth glowing faintly around her neck.
"Hello, Twilight."
Twilight stopped in her tracks, and immediately reached for her magic. She saw the Amaranth's glow intensify as Axion tried to stop whatever spell Twilight was about to cast, however her reaction was too slow. Twilight disappeared from the throne room, reappearing in the southern section of the city, which was as yet intact. Ponies were milling about in the streets, wondering what was going on. Twilight was about to cast her second teleportation spell, but at the last second she hesitated, calling to the masses.
"Canterlot has been invaded! Take your loved ones and nothing else and evacuate immediately!"
Twilight stuck around just long enough to see the ponies hear her announcement and begin to react, then she released her spell and was gone, popping into existence beside a tall statue of a stallion in full armour, rearing on his hind legs with his mouth open in a battle cry. Twilight looked around, but Luna and the Berets were nowhere to be seen yet. Twilight looked up at the memorial to the Vanishing Champion, taking a moment to reminisce about the times she had spent here as a filly, surrounded by a pile of books she had levitated out here to study.
She had always been enthralled by the story of the stallion behind the statue. He had been a great warrior over a thousand years ago, decades before Nightmare Moon. The griffons had invaded, and had taken a large chunk of Equestrian land under control. The troops had been demoralized, and it seemed like the griffons would soon conquer Equestria. One day, the griffons had attacked a major city, the last between them and Canterlot. It all seemed lost, the battle decided, when a single warrior appeared from the ranks of the Equestrians. He jumped into fray with a mighty yell and a complete disregard for personal safety. He butchered his way through the ranks, killing griffon after griffon until he found the commander of the army, and proceeded to kill him. The griffons saw their leader beheaded and their courage broke, breaking ranks and running away from a battle they should have won. They regrouped a few miles distant, planning their revenge.
The warrior who was now a hero marshaled what was left of the Equestrian Army and placed them in a pass between two tall cliffs, directly in the griffon's path. Going around the pass would have taken days and their forces far outnumbered the ponies, so the griffons decided to attack the ponies stationed in the pass. It should have been a landslide victory; five hundred ponies stood against nearly five times as many griffons, but somehow, under the care and leadership of this unknown warrior, they emerged victorious. As elated as the Equestrians were that they were safe, it was a bittersweet victory, as nearly all the Equestrian soldiers died in the battle. The mysterious warrior who had led them to victory disappeared after the battle, never seen again. Many thought him dead, but his body was never found among the carnage. Some believed that he had been captured as the remaining griffons fled, and a pessimistic few believed he had lost his courage and fled the battle. Either way, he never reappeared. Though his body was gone, he had found his place in legend, embedded in the pages of history. This nameless hero was celebrated as a hero who saved Equestria, and a memorial was built in his honor and the honor of the hundreds of soldiers who died protecting their home. Twilight walked to the front of the statue and read the inscription there aloud.
"Go tell the Equestrians, passerby,
that here obedient to their laws, we lie."
Twilight smiled as she looked up to the statue, forever shouting his defiance in the face of overwhelming odds.
"We could certainly use someone like you right now."
"We don't need him, we have you."
Twilight whirled at the voice to find Luna and the Black Berets standing there, apparently just teleported in. She smiled at Luna's words, and walked closer.
"I'm no hero. Not like him. He risked his life against overwhelming odds and never showed any signs of fear. No, he is definitely what I aspire to be, but am not."
Luna approached Twilight, nuzzling her when she was close. Twilight heard Wildfire begin to take roll of the Berets while the Princess and her lover talked.
"You are strong, Twilight. Believe in yourself."
Twilight blushed and enjoyed the nuzzle for a moment, before she realized that Luna smelled faintly of smoke.
"You smell like fire. Did something happen?"
"Not really. We teleported to a street near the southern gate, and happened to appear right beside a house that was on fire. Luckily, no one saw us, and we got out of the city unnoticed. How did you fare? Where is Celestia?"
Twilight gulped and stared at the ground, trying to form the words she needed, to tell Luna her sister had betrayed Equestria, turning her back on all that is good in the world.
"She-"
"We have to go back!"
Luna whirled around at Wildfire's words.
"Why?"
"Princess, Winter is still there! I forgot, she was visiting a friend on the southeast side of the city! We have to go get her!"
Luna stomped a hoof in frustration, sending a mild shock wave through the ground that Twilight felt in her hooves. The Princess thought for a moment, and Twilight thought for a second she would deny Wildfire's request.
"Twilight, Wildfire and Nightfury will go. A smaller group is harder to spot. I will take the rest of the Black Berets to the Withersford Ruins. Twilight, can you teleport two others with you?"
"Yes."
"Let's waste no more time. Twilight, be careful."
Twilight saw true concern in Luna's eyes, and she knew it was mirrored in her own.
"I will."
Nightfury walked over to Twilight, ready for teleporting. Wildfire turned to the rest of the Black Berets before he did, addressing them in a dark and lowered tone.
"If we ain't back by morning....."
The Beret's faces all fell into a serious mask as one, their eyes hard as they thought about what Wildfire was implicating. His scarlet eyes, however, abruptly sparkled as he smiled.
"..... Just wait longer!"
The Berets barked in laughter, however Twilight could tell it wasn't completely honest. Their smiles never quite reached their eyes, and Twilight could see Wildfire had a similar expression. They all knew that there was a possibility that those three going into the city wouldn't come back. Twilight looked at Nightfury and Wildfire in turn.
"Are you ready?"
It was Nightfury's turn to make a remark this time.
"Ready to jump into a city crawling with evil agents of an evil sorceress who wants nothing less than Equestria's downfall? Born ready."
Twilight scoffed and looked at Wildfire, who nodded. She looked at Luna one last time. Twilight barely had time to register Luna's gaze of heartbreaking worry before her purple magic ensnared them and whisked them away. They appeared just outside the southern wall, where it was still quiet. Just over the wall Twilight could see the glow of fires, and faint screams drifted on the wind.
"Wildfire, which way?"
"East a bit. It's not far, I think I can teleport us."
"Do so."
Another flash, this one of a fire red like Wildfire's mane, and they were outside a section of wall identical to the last, just a little further down. Wildfire seemed to be able to tell the difference, however, because he looked at the wall for just a second before proclaiming that it was the right place.
"The house is just across the street on the other side of the wall. We should levitate up. A strong spell like teleporting might be noticed."
Twilight nodded; this made sense. A teleport spell might not give any indications that a pony had just arrived, but any competent unicorn near where they left would be able to feel the spell reshaping the fabric of reality. Lower level spells like levitation could be felt, but at a much lower magnitude. Twilight grabbed herself and the two warriors in violet haze and lifted them, much to their surprise. They landed on top of the wall and looked over.
Things still looked fairly quiet in this part of the city. The closest burning building was a few blocks away, and Twilight didn't see any ponies in the street. At a signal from Wildfire, Twilight lifted them again and dropped down to a soundless landing in the street below. Wildfire immediately took off at a quick run, going straight towards one of the houses, Twilight and Nightfury right behind him. He reached the front door and tested it, finding it unlocked. Pushing it all the way open, the three made their way inside. Twilight barely had time to glimpse a fairly normal looking interior before a wave of fire spontaneously erupted around them, and almost as quickly disappeared, followed by a squeal.
"Wildfire!"
"Dammit, Winter! I think I lost an eyebrow."
Winter Mist appeared from through a doorway, a smile on her face. She immediately ran over to Wildfire, enveloping him in a tight hug. Twilight noticed now the smile that Wildfire had now reached his eyes, and was truly honest. Nightfury pretended to not notice the romance in the room, and went to look out the window. Twilight saw him duck quickly, and reflexively followed suit. He whispered at Wildfire and Winter, still embracing in the middle of the room, not noticing anything.
"Get down! Patrol!"
They hit the floor so fast Twilight thought that they had to have used a gravity spell. She then turned around and found that she could peek outside through a crack in the still barely open door. The street seemed empty at first, but then she a small contingent of soldiers came into view in the same shining armour from earlier came into view, marching down the street. There were an even dozen of them in six rows of two, and soon they were gone. They hadn't even looked to either side, so Twilight decided they were on route to somewhere, not searching the city. Twilight was about to crawl forward and see if the coast was clear when another dozen appeared, following the first. She lay there for a count of thirty seconds before looking at Nightfury, who slowly lifted his head, looking out the window.
"Clear. Let's get out while we can. they might start checking houses soon."
The group stood and made their way to the door, gathering behind, preparing for a mad sprint to the wall when Nightfury stopped them.
"Wait. What if there's more? We should go one at a time. If they see a group, they'll certainly chase. If it's just one stray pony, they might decide that it's not worth their time."
The rest of the group affirmed his idea was good, then an order was developed. Twilight would be first, followed by Nightfury, then Wildfire, then Winter. Twilight gulped as she prepared for her mad dash, checking the road once more before sprinting across the road and lifted herself so fast she staggered upon landing on top of the wall. She turned around just in time to see Nightfury do the same maneuver, landing beside her silently. They both watched as Wildfire did his mad run and lift, then they all turned to wait for Winter. She only took a few steps out of the door when a magical bolt slammed into the ground in front of her, sending her retreating back into the doorway. Looking down the street, they saw that another dozen of soldiers had come around the corner just in time to see Winter. They sent bolt after bolt at the doorway, slowly reducing it to rubble as Winter cowered just inside, looking at Twilight with pleading eyes. Twilight racked her mind, searching for some way to help the distressed mare. Wildfire barked at Twilight.
"She's not good at teleporting, grab her!"
"I can't, she's too far!"
Wildfire yelled and jumped off the wall, barely catching himself in a red haze before he hit the ground. He waved at Winter to join Twilight and Nightfury, who remained hidden at the top of the wall. Wildfire turned with another yell and began casting a barrage of magic at the soldiers, causing them to duck before retaliating, giving Winter just enough time to get to the top of the wall. The soldiers then noticed the ponies at the top of the wall but couldn't attack them, as Wildfire was casting such a deluge of spells that they couldn't take their concentration off him for a second. A bombardment of spells shot towards Wildfire, who nearly managed to dodge all of them. He caught a bolt to the shoulder, and turned to the group at the top of the wall.
"Go! I'll make sure they don't follow!"
Wildfire turned back to his terribly unmatched duel and kept fighting on three legs, blocking what spells he could and sending more than his fair share back. Twilight saw at least two soldiers fall under his bombardment before a hoof grabbed her shoulder. Nightfury yelled in her ear.
"He knows what he's doing! Let's go, he can handle a dozen!"
The words had scarcely left his lips when another group of soldiers ran around the corner, coming up behind the others. They immediately noticed and sent a wave of spells at the ponies on top of the wall. Twilight saw Winter and Nightfury jump off the other side of the wall and followed them, landing in the grass just in time to hear an ear shattering report as the section of wall they had been standing on exploded. Shards of stone rained down upon the ground. Looking up, Twilight saw a very large chunk of stone bearing straight down upon them. Without thinking, she grabbed the two ponies near her and teleported, going vaguely south. They appeared, and Twilight immediately teleported them again, this time coming to the statue of the Vanishing Champion.
Twilight fell to the ground as soon as the spell let loose of her, expended. Nightfury came over to her, nudging her lightly with a hoof.
"Come on, Twilight. We have to get some distance between us and here."
Twilight drunkenly stood. Nightfury and Winter began to walk into the woods, but Twilight hesitated, looking back at the place they had been ambushed. The fire could be seen clearly, as could the section of destroyed wall, but there were no indications of any fighting. Her sluggish mind oozed a thought through the cloud of exhaustion that had suddenly fallen on her.
"But.... Wildfire?"
Nightfury's steps barely paused.
"He sacrificed his life to let us get away. If we want it to mean anything, we should avoid being caught, so let's move."
"He might still be alive! He could-"
"He was standing right next to where those spells hit. We were on the other side of a thick stone wall and it was still bad enough. Let's shift."
Twilight still hesitated, looking back at the wall and the fire.
"But what if-"
Nightfury whirled around, his eyes hard and accusing.
"Commander, this is war! 'What if' will get you killed! We need to vacate this area!"
Twilight recoiled. The Black Berets had all but stopped calling her Commander. She turned her eyes down as she realized the truth in his words.
"You're right. Let's go. The Withersford Ruins are about three hour's march away."
Twilight made to follow, but she paused, just long enough to look back one last time. The fire was now nearly out, but the smoke could still be seen. It curled upwards into the morning sky, darkening the sun as it rose. Twilight dimly noted that the sun and the sky around it was more predominantly red than normal, and an old saying rose unbidden to her mind.
A red sun rises; blood has been spilled this night.
Twilight turned back and followed Nightfury and Winter into the Everfree Forest. As they traveled, Twilight explored the grim mindset she now inhabited. She now thought of darkness and hatred in a way she had never experienced. She was also very aware that every step she took led her further away from the city she had called home, away from the grave of a dear friend, away from the greatest threat Equestria had ever faced, and away from a dreadful betrayal. Twilight swore she would return.
There is vengeance to be had.
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I call Axion cheating and binding Celestia's mind to her will the Night she came to invade. that was a sweet image by the way. Also wif you don't mind what really did happen to Celestia, did she really betray Equestria or did Axion corrupt her first be for she could react?
so twilight and luna went to sleep, and during the night axion invaded? has there really been half a year already, felt a little abrupt.
after having been so extremely worried about winter, and seeming like she wouldn't lift a hoof in any other direction; the others sure left wildfire easily.
also; twi didn't tell luna about celestia, what if she went back herself.
great chapter!
1952626
personally i think celestia was falling to her own feeling, much like luna was during the NMM incident, but she hadn't been fully corrupted yet, axion 'fixed' that. maybe she has been whispering to her all this time, turning her against luna and twilight.
"I don't know how many of them it would have taken to kill us, but I knew how many they were going to use" -- I note an author who watches Ron White Stand-Up.
Wildfire can do it ! Luna will catch up with Twilight i am sure and Celestia will be fine... Think posetive, think posetive............
1952681 the problem with that theory is that celestia would still be against Axion, I also believe she would have destoryed half of canterlot in the process of going solar flare or whatever cliche name we come up with for her more violent half.
1952942
why would she be against axion, we know luna wasn't exactly thinking straight while corrupted, maybe she's more focused on luna and twilight not doing what she wants, i mean not only has luna been a little rebellious lately, but twilight has even been helping her, and with celestia having been the ultimate authority for a thousand years; that might make her a little angry (she's used to being in control). and we don't really know how celestia would be when going solar-flare on us, i mean, luna is pretty emotional, so her little tantrum is to be expected, but celestia has always been extremely calm and collected, that should carry over into solar-flare in my opinion.
1952987 true however therein lies the problem with her working with axion. At least willingly even as solar flair Celestia desires to remain in control therefore she would not willingly be second to anypony especially as solar flair. and at this point I thing the release of discord would be a blessing for twilight and luna due to the chaos within the city i think it might just happen. however you are right about her desire to defeat twilight and luna just to control them however would she willingly sacrifice her precious pony's to do so?
OK, enough with the dark stuff and a look at the comedy in this chapter
1952681 I might not have hinted at it strongly enough. I may have to edit. It's the same night as the previous chapter. xD
1952681 Winter got ambushed as she was crossing the street, and I imagine her as being more of Nightfury's assassin type, rather than full force confrontation. Also, as they are leaving the wall, Nightfury says "He can handle a dozen!" Which he probably could. However, the next moment is a large explosion. Nightfury is smart, easily one of the smartest Black Berets, so what he tells Twilight later by the Vanishing Champion, was in his mind before Twi even teleported them. And Luna said she was going to the Withersford Ruins, that's where she'll go. :P
1952719 Ahaha YES.
1953109 May I hug you?
1952872 More feelings, yes, but it's just about time for answers to those questions. maybe.
And yes, think positive.... Think happy thoughts.... c:<
1953124 You may, but don't let it see my wife
1953184 Oh, you're gonna love what happens next. ;)
I've never been a fan of "Celestia falls" stuff. And even if she did, I don't think she'd allow herself to play second fiddle to someone else. So I'm going to assume mind control, which is something I'm even less a fan off. (Mind control profoundly disturbs me for some reason. Even moreso on Celestia.) I will read with caution from here on out.
1953271 Caution is probably the best option. :]
1953091
well, luna didn't really care about anything other than forcing ponies to live during the night (despite the millions of problems that came with it); celestia might only care about getting twilight and luna under 'control' again, regardless of what she has to do or the consequences.
1953124
yes i got that it was the previous night, but it just felt so sudden, like shouldn't they have expected it to come around that time, i mean; axion literally told them so.
1953382 It's supposed to be sudden, it's a surprise attack. :P That's why when Luna only looks out the door for a second, she is able to tell the Black Berets the city is lost.
1953356 man that is one severe drop from Celestia's usual IQ oh well we'll see what really happened eventually or hopefully the author will let us know exactly what happened. I still say Celestia was brainwashed by Axion. but other than that lets hope that Luna and Twilight can pull a miracle out of their hind quarters and save the day. otherwise it is curtains for Equestria as a free country for ponies to live happily.
cheers
doubt Celestia's evil, it's possible she's that pissed at Luna and everyone else in general but my bet is some sort of corruption...
1973984 Wait, wut.
Edit: Thanks for the heads up. No idea what happened there.
And no one picked up on the LotR reference? Internet, you make me sad.
1978979 :3 there's a few others in there as well.
Just started on chapter three... And I honestly think it was a bad decision to make such a huge timeskip.
Twilight got wings, skip six months forward.
How did her friends find out she had wings? How did they react? How did the princesses react? What were the consequences? Rumours of a new Alicorn? The media etc.
I think you made quite the bummer by skipping such a huge part of Twilight's change.
1979883 along with no knowledge of how long it's been, and the addition of no information on what happens in-between?
1981795 I do know that I've done a terrible job with the time skips, but I do try to throw in hints as to how long it's been.
Once the last chapter is out, I'm going to go back and fix all that.